D&D General Which Sacred Cow Will Be The Last To Slaughter?

[Reynard]

Imho DnD is a Class based fantasy game and if Classes ever disappear then it wont be DnD anymore - of course those classes are just Fighter, Mage, Skill monkey, but those are the pillars.

XP is meaningless, ability scores can be reduced to a single Proficiency bonus and Race has already become a stack of feats. But if Classes ever become a mere feat tree then we may as well play Gurps

This sets up the dangerous proposition that D&D the RPG can be declared "not D&D the RPG" by anyone other than the company publishing D&D the RPG.

We went through this back with 4E and it wasn't a good time.

 

[Lanefan]

Other: the last cow to the slaughter house will be the twenty-sided die.

 

[GMMichael]

I can see the possibility of Armor Class being removed as a mechanic, with attack rolls being against Reflex/Fortitude/Will like in 4th edition, but with area effect attacks still using saving throws.

This post might offer clues. It sends AC to the slaughter and supports saving throws, although saving throws have been under attack for many editions now. What's left? The attack roll. Not a poll option, but the attack roll is the darling of D&D's belligerent heritage, and it can even exist without the "core mechanic" although it is directly spawned from such. Come to think of it, the attack roll WAS the fundamental rule prior to 3rd ed.

I picked ability scores because they're intrinsic to PCs and the first point of contact when the player starts asking, "okay, so how do I start killin stuff?"

 

[CleverNickName]

Serious, non-snarky answer: Save throws should be the next to go.
Arguably you could replace them all with a single attribute called "Luck," and the game wouldn't suffer for it.

"The dragon exhales, and the air ignites around you! Roll for luck."
"The snake strikes, and you feel its poisonous fangs in your skin! Roll for luck."
"You avert your eyes from the Medusa, but you are a moment too late! Roll for luck."

 

[Yaarel]

Serious, non-snarky answer: Save throws should be the next to go.
Arguably you could replace them all with a single attribute called "Luck," and the game wouldn't suffer for it.

"The dragon exhales, and the air ignites around you! Roll for luck."
"The snake strikes, and you feel its poisonous fangs in your skin! Roll for luck."
"You avert your eyes from the Medusa, but you are a moment too late! Roll for luck."

4e made the attacker always roll. Thus there is no "saving throw", only defenses.

Meanwhile skills and attacks could all use the same math. And defenses be like "passive" skill checks.

 

[Tonguez]

This sets up the dangerous proposition that D&D the RPG can be declared "not D&D the RPG" by anyone other than the company publishing D&D the RPG.

We went through this back with 4E and it wasn't a good time.

Not dangerous, I claim my power as demand center for DnD and other competitive products. Its the consumer test group that will define the last sacred cow - as per the premise of the OP

 

[Reynard]

Serious, non-snarky answer: Save throws should be the next to go.
Arguably you could replace them all with a single attribute called "Luck," and the game wouldn't suffer for it.

"The dragon exhales, and the air ignites around you! Roll for luck."
"The snake strikes, and you feel its poisonous fangs in your skin! Roll for luck."
"You avert your eyes from the Medusa, but you are a moment too late! Roll for luck."

But what if I want my character to rely on skill?

 

[CleverNickName]

But what if I want my character to rely on skill?

Well, we could either make Luck a skill, or use skill checks in place of save throws.

"The dragon exhales, and the air ignites around you! Make a Luck check!"
"The dragon exhales, and the air ignites around you! Make an Acrobatics check!"

Either way, I still don't see a need for a separate Save Throw mechanic. (There's nothing wrong with having the save throw mechanic; it just seems like it would be a little closer to the chopping block than, say, Hit Points.)

 

[Hex08]

The DM will be the last to be slaughtered. Unfortunately, that means I will not put up a fight as I am dragged to the chopping block since by that point to much of what I consider D&D will already be dead.

 

[haakon1]

Other: the last cow to the slaughter house will be the twenty-sided die.

I said Levels, but I see your point.

On the other hand, auto roller is a thing now. Physical dice may not survive forever. I haven’t played in person since COVID, and I roll dice and encourage my players to, but two of use dice rollers on their phones, and it makes no difference to me the DM.

I did think about DM being the last to go, but I think they will try.